Mom’s birthday present? It may be a difficult thing for some people, but for me, it is an easy thing. Mom loved flowers, so every year I sent her flowers. Actually she had a bed of irises (鸢尾花) in the backyard of her small, Indiana farm. They were beautiful. “Take some,” she said, “Dig some up and plant them on the side of your own house.”
But in my yard they became lacking in energy. A year passed, then two, but not one flower appeared. I cut back all their green leaves. I was tired of seeing them so lonely. Finally, I dug the irises up and threw them away.
About that time Mom died unexpectedly. My sister and I sold the farm. I never went back to see the irises. I just couldn’t bear seeing another family living in our home—Mom’s home. Autumn came, then winter. The following spring, as Mom’s birthday approached, I struggled with the question of how to remember her. I stared out the window and saw a few stubborn irises in my side yard sprouting (发芽), —tall, thin but flowerless. Because of seeing them, I decided to order flowers as I always did on Mom’s birthday, and send them to my sister. I wished so badly I could still send flowers to Mom. But that was impossible.
In the morning of Mom’s birthday, I was in my car ready to work. Something in the yard caught my eye. The irises! One had bloomed with flowers, big, showy and purple, as lovely as they ever had been on Mom’s farm. I smiled and turned my eyes upward. I could no longer send flowers to Mom. But somehow, she’d been able to send them to me.According to the first paragraph, Mom ________.
| A．wanted to give the author some flowers |
| B．didn’t like the presents from the author |
| C．lived with the author on an Indiana farm |
| D．got different birthday presents from the author every year |
At first, the irises in the author’s yard ________.
| A．all died quickly |
| B．didn’t bloom at all |
| C．grew as well as on Mom’s farm |
| D．grew better than those on Mom’s farm |
What troubled the author?
| A．She didn’t know how to grow irises. |
| B．She regretted they had sold Mom’s farm. |
| C．She didn’t know what to do in memory of Mom. |
| D．She couldn’t bear others living in Mom’s home. |
After seeing the irises sprouting, the author________.
| A．decided to send flowers to her sister on Mom’s birthday |
| B．dug them out because they were flowerless |
| C．decided to send them to Mom after they bloom |
| D．ordered flowers for the people living in Mom’s home |
What can be learned from the last paragraph?
| A．All the irises in the author’s yard bloomed. |
| B．The author went to see the irises in Mom’s yard. |
| C．It was Mom who took care of these irises in the author’s yard. |
| D．The author thought the blooming irises were gifts from Mom. |
The English language started about 1500 years ago in England. Three groups of people came to the country. They were the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. These three groups brought their languages with them to England. After some time, the three languages became one new language—English. The name "English" comes from the Angles. They lived in most of England. "England" means "Angle Land" or "Country of the Angles".
The language that we speak today—Modern English—is not the same as the English that people used 1500 years ago, including Old English（before ll50）and Middle English（up till 1500）. That language—Old English—sounds different, and it has some different rules of grammar. There were only a few thousand words in Old English. But Modern English does come from Old English, and it is still like it in many important ways.When did Modern English start?
| A．About the year 1150. |
| B．Before the year 1500. |
| C．Between the 12th century and the 16th century. |
| D．About 1500 years ago. |
How many languages did Old English come from?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Which language did the name "English" come from?
| A．Modern English. | B．The Angles. | C．The Jutes. | D．The Saxons. |
According to the passage, Modern English differs from Old English in ________.
| A．grammar | B．pronunciation | C．words | D．All of the above |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Modern English has nothing to do with Old English. |
| B．Modern English has more words than Old English. |
| C．Modern English has a vocabulary（词汇量）twice as large as old English. |
| D．There is no difference between Old English and Middle English. |
It’s not easy growing up. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we feel sad, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. But we should take a look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude and learn from them. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time. We should realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!
Throughout our lives we are going to face many challenges and pains, but we should never let these obstacles keep us from following our dreams. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time.
As a young girl, my parents forced me to do so many things that I didn’t like. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music and I also hated them. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched(丰富) my life in so many ways. I now realize that my parents and teachers wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.
We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just part of our life. They might seem so huge at the time, but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no challenges and lived a life like that. Life would be really boring and meaningless. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps(碰撞) on our road to success, we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains! The underlined word “obstacles” (in Paragraph 2) roughly means things that ______.
| A．are related to your studies |
| B．you easily achieve |
| C．make you happy |
| D．make it difficult for you to do something |
How does the author now feel when remembering what her parents did for her in the past?
| A．She is fearful | B．She is grateful |
| C．She feels trapped | D．She feels hateful |
We can know from the last paragraph that _____________.
| A．life without challenges is dull |
| B．life needs no pains but sunshine and happiness |
| C．we should give up faced with challenges as the future is ours |
| D．we shouldn’t easily pay a little hard work in growing up |
The purpose of the passage is to tell readers____________.
| A．life is full of hardships |
| B．growing pains can turn into growing gains in a positive way |
| C．everyone is painful in growing up |
| D．everyone should do what they don’t like when young |
Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical technology is better than ever. Many people your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging(抗衰老的) treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age !
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles(粒子) much smaller than the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to change your clothes’ color or pattern.
You walk into the kitchen. You pick up the milk, but a voice says, “You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the chip (芯片) that contains information about the milk , and it knows the milk is old . In 2035, every article of food in the grocery store has such a chip.
It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your “smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using your jacket sleeve(袖子). Such “smart technology” is all around you.
So will all these things come true? “For new technology to succeed,” says scientist Andrew Zolli , “it has to be so much better that it replaces what we have already.” The Internet is one example --what will be the next?We can learn from the text that in the future__________.
| A．people will never get old |
| B．everyone will look the same |
| C．red will be the most popular color |
| D．clothes will be able to change their pattern |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?
| A．Milk will be harmful to health. |
| B．More drinks will be available for sale. |
| C．Food in the grocery store will carry electronic information. |
| D．Milk in the grocery store will stay fresh much longer. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Food and clothing in 2035. |
| B．Future technology in everyday life. |
| C．Medical treatments of the future. |
| D．The reason for the success of new technology. |
HOLIDAY HOMES IN MALLORCA
Holiday houses in Mallorca sailing and fishing port -- quiet even in summer season. Beautifully situated houses with sights of sea and mountains, yet near to shops and restaurants. Cars and bicycles for hire. Sailing and sports clubs nearby.
ITALY IN COMFORT
Luxury coach（长途客运汽车） trips of Italy, out of normal holiday season. 21days to visit five Italian cities starting from London 1st May, 1st September. The trips are guided by professor Martin Davis, Head of Italian Studies, London University. See the arts and culture of historic Italy.
KIBBUTZ HOLIDAYS IN ISRAEL（以色列）
Working holidays on a kibbutz（ co -operative farm） in Israel. All nationalities welcome for one to three months, if prepared to work morning with kibbutz members.
Accommodation （住宿）, food and trips to historic sights all provided free - you pay only for the special low- cost return flight.
TWO WEEKS ON A CARIBBEAN ISLAND
Two-week holidays in the Hotel Splendid, on a lovely beach with golden sands and deep-blue sea. Tennis, golf, sailing and all water sports, trips around the island arranged. Near to town of Castries with lively evening entertainment--dancing.
1st November - 31st March = ￡ 720 per person
1st April - 30th October = ￡ 850 per person
Jack and his wife Mary, who have recently retired, want to see places of cultural and historic interest abroad, but Mary hates flying.
Michael, a young computer programmer, has been working hard and needs a holiday to relax in winter. He would like to go somewhere warmer and sunny, where he can swim in the sea, and he enjoys sports and dancing.
Henry and Kate, both teachers, and their two sons, have to take their holiday during the school summer holidays. There must be plenty for the boys to do, although Henry and Kate just want to have beautiful scenery, good food and wine--and peace.Michael would most probably go to ________ for his holiday.
| A．Italy | B．Israel |
| C．Mallorca | D．a Caribbean island |
The best holiday for Jack and Mary would be________.
| A．the 21 - day coach trip of Italy |
| B．the 2 -week stay in the Hotel Splendid |
| C．the 14 -day trip around a Caribbean island |
| D．the working holidays for 1 -3 months on a kibbutz in Israel |
Henry and Kate and their sons would like________.
| A．a holiday working on a kibbutz in Israel |
| B．a holiday visiting cities by coach in Italy |
| C．a holiday house in the fishing port in Mallorca |
| D．a holiday hotel on a lovely beach on a Caribbean Island |
You can find this passage most probably in ________.
| A．a school library | B．a tourist agency |
| C．the post office | D．the museum |
When middle-aged Alex quit his job and made up his mind to become a self-employed writer, no one could tell for sure whether he would succeed or not．He found a cold storage room in a building, set up a used typewriter and settled down to work．
After a year or so, however, Alex began to doubt himself．He found it was difficult to earn his living by selling what he wrote．But Alex determined to put his dream to the test—even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure．This is the shadowland（虚幻世界）of hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there．
One day Alex got a call,“We need an assistant, and we're paying $ 6,000 a year．” $ 6,000 was real money in 1960．It would enable Alex to get a nice apartment, a used car and more．Besides, he could write in his spare time．As the dollars were dancing in Alex's head, something cleared his senses．He had dreamed of being a writer? Full time．“Thanks, but no,” Alex said firmly and swiftly, “I'm going to stick it out and write．”
After Alex got off the phone, he pulled out everything he had: two cans of vegetables and 18 cents．Alex put the cans and cents into a paper bag, saying to himself, “There's everything you've made of yourself so far．I'm not sure I ever felt so low.”
Finally his work was published in 1970．Instantly he had the kind of fame and success that few writers ever experienced．The shadows had turned into focus of attention．
Then one day, Alex found a box filled with things he had owned years before．Inside was a paper bag with two cans and 18 cents．Suddenly he pictured himself working in that cold storage room．It reminds Alex, and anyone with a dream, of the courage and persistence it takes to stay the course in the shadowland．Why did Alex give up his job?
| A．Because he didn't like the working conditions． |
| B．Because he couldn't earn enough to make a living． |
| C．Because he wanted to be a full-time writer． |
| D．Because he felt he had no potential in his job． |
What did Alex express when he answered the call?
| A．He refused the job offer． |
| B．He was willing to give them a hand． |
| C．He expected them to pay him more money． |
| D．He would write in his spare time． |
What kind of person is Alex?
| A．Determined | B．Generous. | C．Shy | D．Brave． |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Look before you leap. |
| B．Two heads are better than one． |
| C．The shadowland of dreams. |
| D．A bird in hand is worth two in the bush． |
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